George Leef

George C. Leef is the research director of the Martin Center for Academic Renewal in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was previously the president of Patrick Henry Associates, East Lansing, Michigan, an adjunct professor of law and economics, Northwood University, and a scholar with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Latest from George Leef

January 22, 2019
There are a few issues where Americans on both sides of our political divide are in agreement and one of them is the wrongfulness of civil asset-forfeiture laws. Under those laws (which exist at federal, state, and local levels), ...

August 1, 2018
Freedom Frauds: Hard Lessons in American Liberty by James Bovard (Future of Freedom, 2017), 184 pages.
James Bovard has been a thorn in the side of the statists for decades. His books and columns have exposed the ...

May 1, 2018
The Case against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money by Bryan Caplan (Princeton University Press, 2018, 395 pages).
Almost every book on education policy (and I have read a great many ...

October 1, 2017
Economism: Bad Economics and the Rise of Inequality by James Kwak (Pantheon Books, 2017; 237 pages)
There is a nasty genre of writing: books and articles that seek to build the case for socialism and interventionist government policies by smearing ...

September 1, 2017
Freedom of contract used to be understood as a cornerstone of civilization and a crucial element in economic progress. The Constitution’s Framers included in Article 1, Section 10, a clause stating that Congress was forbidden to enact any law ...

June 1, 2017
Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy by Robert H. Frank (Princeton University Press, 2016; 208 pages)
In 2002, I reviewed an atrocious book for this publication — The Myth of Ownership, by Liam ...

January 1, 2017
Who Needs the Fed? by John Tamny (Encounter Books, 2016); 224 pages.
I really don’t like to start a review with a quibble, but in this instance, I must. My quibble is with the title of ...

November 1, 2016
The Right to Try: How the Federal Government Prevents Americans from Getting the Lifesaving Treatments They Need by Darcy Olsen (HarperCollins, 2015); 311 pages.
The highly acclaimed 2013 movie Dallas Buyers Club told the story of Ron ...

October 1, 2016
The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom by David Boaz (Simon & Schuster, 2015); 417 pages.
Since the beginning of the so-called Progressive Era, advocates of big government have been on the offensive. They promised Americans more ...

April 1, 2016
Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court by Damon Root (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), 274 pages.
Every case that comes before the U.S. Supreme Court has its unique factual setting and contentious legal issues, but ...